On September 19, Netflix released the crime thriller «Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story», which is based on real events — the murders of the Menendez brothers of their parents in August 1989. Formally, the «Monsters» project has now become an anthology and is the second season of the series «Dahmer», which received mediocre reviews from critics but was loved by audiences. Read the review below to find out what to expect from this story.
Pluses:
an interesting story that is both intriguing and misleading (and this is doubly valuable given the well-known outcome); excellent acting from all the show's leading performers without exception; the murder scene will be remembered for a long time;
Minuses:
some little things like Javier Bardem's slightly plastic makeup or the abruptly cut-off storyline of the psychologist — Dr. Jerome Oziel;
«Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story» / Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Genre biographical crime thriller
Showrunners Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
Starring Nicolas Chavez, Cooper Koch, Javier Bardem, Chloe Sevigny, Nathan Lane, Eri Graynor, Dallas Roberts, Leslie Grossman
Premiere Netflix
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
Beverly Hills, late 80s. Two young boys, brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez, do not get along well with their parents — a wealthy and demanding businessman with a strong character, Jose, and a depressed housewife, Kitty.
As intergenerational relations within the family become increasingly unbearable, the brothers decide to commit a terrible act. They buy two shotguns at the nearest gun store, where they are sold, return home, and shoot their defenseless father and mother in a room of their luxurious home.
Later, Lyle will call the police and report the murder in a whiny voice. Initially, the suspicion will not fall on the boys, but later their careless behavior will give rise to their arrest. The question is whether the Menendez brothers were motivated by self-defense against their tyrannical father and indifferent mother or by a banal desire to inherit their father’s wealth.
Exactly two years ago, Netflix released the series «Dahmer», which told the story of a brutal murderer against the backdrop of police indifference and racism. The show was not a critical success, but it received high marks from the audience, and the lead actor Evan Peters received a «Golden Globe» for his work.
From the very beginning, «The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendez» contrasts sharply with its predecessor: instead of a miserable shack of a strange loner, there are luxurious apartments in Beverly Hills, and the completely gloomy, deliberately discolored picture has been replaced by bright shots of California palm trees bathed in the pleasant sun.
And the titular monsters themselves don’t come across as ruthless psychopaths at all — they’re just golden, pampered boys who care more about their hairstyles than they do about doing evil. The eldest, Lyle Menendez, tries his best to cosplay Tom Cruise in «Cocktail», although he actually has more in common with Cruise’s character from «Tropic Thunder». Two years younger, Eric looks like a fragile person with a delicate mental organization. But what makes the series really good is its play on contrasts and the ability to constantly evoke a sense of deception in the viewer.
Along with the clip cut to «Ice Ice Baby» about the brothers’ hedonistic fun they had right after their parents died, there is an episode devoted entirely to Eric’s heartbreaking story about his father’s sexual abuse. There is only a single scene, shot in one shot, without editing, where only the close-up changes as the camera gradually, very slowly, approaches the character throughout the episode.
The show’s creators have done a great job not only of manipulating the viewer, but of leading him down different, contradictory paths so that he never guesses who he can really believe and who he can’t. Perhaps there is a reason why the boys decided to take such a terrible step? Maybe something literally forced them to do it? The element of an unreliable narrator is cranked up to the max, so you’ll repeatedly find yourself wondering about your final attitude toward the characters.
In fact, we become full-fledged jurors in this case, who have to listen to both sides (the prosecution and the accused), weigh the pros and cons, and draw their own conclusions. And that’s a good thing, because this way the viewer will be involved in the story as much as possible, and there is no trace of the overwhelming «Dahmer» here.
All this psychological tossing and turning, public behavior, intimate scenes, monologues, cruelty and tears in one bottle-all of this required appropriate acting skills, even more complex than Evan Peters’. Yes, he coped brilliantly with the role of a psychopath left to his own devices, but Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch gave at least as powerful performances.
The Menendez brothers were inspired to commit the crime by the TV movie «Billionaire Boys Club», and to provide an alibi, they tried to get to the appropriate screening of «Batman» by Tim Burton. The Los Angeles Times even reported the police allegedly planned to ask Sylvester Stallone a few questions because Jose Menendez was the owner of Live Entertainment, a part of Carolco Pictures, from under whose wing «Rambo» came out. At some point in the plot, the well-known figure in another high-profile double murder case, OJ Simpson, will be sporadically mentioned. The strangulation of Dominique Dunne — the actress from the horror classic «Poltergeist» will be a flashback. The courtroom will also remember the cult sitcom «Friends».
This is all to say that the Menendez trial had a wide public outcry, and it is symbolic that these events eventually became part of pop culture themselves, as evidenced by the numerous documentaries, feature films, and TV series dedicated to it.
To date, we have already known about Ryan Murphy’s plans to work on the third season, which will tell the story of the maniac, necrophiliac and body snatcher Ed Gein, played by Charlie Hunnam. It was the actions of this character that partially inspired the image of Leather face — the main antagonist of the cult slasher «The Texas Chainsaw Massacre». In fact, given the number of maniacs who have been active in the United States, this record can play forever.
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